Reflection on Remembrance Day
On Tuesday 11 November, Remembrance Day will be observed across the globe. It was on this date in 1918 that hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" with the German signing of the Armistice ("at the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour or 11.00am). “The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I.”
The red poppy would become the notable emblem of Remembrance Day due in large part to the poem In Flanders Fields. Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I. The red colour symbolised the blood spilled in the war. Many fine young OWs, staff and members of our wider community joined up in World War I and sadly, some would make the ultimate sacrifice.
This year has a special significance with many commemorations being conducted in remembrance of the ANZACs and their involvement in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. It was a memorable year for me as well, as I visited the war cemeteries on the Gallipoli Peninsula on several occasions. Indeed, I was guest lecturer on a cruise ship and one day stands out…I walked into the Lone Pine Cemetery with one of my fellow passengers and, as fate would have it, he immediately stumbled upon the grave of his great-great-grandfather - we were both a little stunned. I passed him my red poppy and left him to reflect privately. I then addressed the assembled passengers at the very place on the one-hundredth anniversary to the day of this terrible battle. I concluded my remarks by reading in full the Ode of Remembrance taken from Laurence Binyon's poem, For the Fallen, which was first published in The Times in September 1914.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children
England mourns for her dead across the sea,
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And glory that shines upon our tears.They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow,
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.They mingle not with their laughing comrades again,
They sit no more at familiar tables of home,
They have no lot in our labour of the daytime,
They sleep beyond England's foam.But where our desires and hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the night.As the stars shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
This year has been a year of commemoration for a war that would continue for many more years. On Remembrance Day we remember and acknowledge the service and sacrifice of all those who served at times of peril and conflict.
Lest we forget.
